Dr. Pablo Ferrara-Equitable Ocean Boundary Delimitation

June 18, 2015: Framework

The general framework of equitable ocean boundary delimitation is including origin and historical evolution and substrate of marine boundaries. There were two criteria related ocean boundary delimitation; first, equidistance criteria and second, equitable criteria. For the history of ocean boundary delimitation started from the Grisbadarna Case between Norway and Sweden in 1909, then, in 1930 the conference at The Hague. In 1945 President Truman issue two proclamations, one pertaining to fisheries in the high seas contiguous to the territorial sea of the United States and the second pertaining to the natural resources of the subsoil and seabed of the continental shelf adjacent to the United States. His continental shelf proclamation likely was a milestone of equitable principle. In 1969, the international court of justice said in the North Sea continental shelf case between Germany v. Denmark and Germany v. The Netherland that Germany did not bind the equidistance principle. The delimitation of continental shelf between states should be done by agreement in accordance with equitable principle by taking into account all of relevant circumstances. From 1949 to 1956 was the time of international law committee. In 1958, the first United Nations Conferences on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I) held in Geneva resulted in 4 conventions; Convention on the High Seas, Convention on the Territorial Sea, Convention of the Continental Shelf, and Convention on Fisheries and Conservation of the Living Resources of the High Seas. The United Nations Conferences on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III) held from 1973 to 1982 resulted the United Nations on the Law of the Sea (LOSC).

The substrate of maritime boundary is several components as follows; political, strategic, and historical considerations, economic and environmental considerations, geographic, geological, and geomorphological considerations, and legal considerations.

There are several provisions in the LOSC concerning international maritime boundary such as Article 15, 50, 60, 74, 83, 147, 259, and 298.

There are several cases concerning international ocean boundary delimitation as follows; 1) the Grisbadarna Case (Norway v. Sweden) by Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) on 23 October 1909, 2) the North Sea Continental Shelf case (Germany v Denmark, and Germany v. The Netherlands) on 20 February 1969 by International Court of Justice (ICJ), 3) the delimitation of continental shelf case (UK v. France) on 30 June 1977 by ICJ, 4) continental shelf case (Tunisia v. Libya) on 24 February 1982 by ICJ, 5) delimitation of the Gulf of Maine (Canada v. USA) on 12 October 1984 by ICJ, 6) delimitation of continental shelf case (Libya v. Malta) on 3 June 1985 by ICJ, 7) delimitation of maritime spaces (Canada v. France) on 10 June 1992 by ICJ, and maritime delimitation and territorial questions (Qatar v. Bahrein) on 16 March 2001 by ICJ.

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